What is your go-to question when a conversation stalls or you are meeting someone for the first time? What was your first concert? Who would you invite to dinner if it could be anyone? …

Editor’s note: We are happy to provide this public service announcement from columnist Maria A. Montalvo. It’s one we heartily agree with. The English language boasts 170 …

“And suddenly we see that love costs all we are and will ever be. Yet it is only love which sets us free.” – Maya Angelou, from the poem “Touched By An Angel.” The …

Many in America – and the world – watched, riveted, to the dramatic scene in the musical “Hamilton” when Alexander Hamilton decides to vote for Thomas Jefferson to be …

"It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?" – Henry David Thoreau Busy is how most of us begin (and persist through) our days. A normal morning …

“We could be heroes, just for one day.” – David Bowie Walking down a long hallway the other day, looking at statues of important figures from American history, I saw an unambiguous …

“To be fair …” begins many a sentence intended to present the other side of a situation or issue. It is not a phrase we hear much these days, except in jest. If you have not seen the …

Loss, noun: The act or an instance of losing; one that is lost; the condition of being deprived or bereaved of something or someone. “Loss” is a complex word. We only consider something lost …

Editor’s note: We are returning to a column published in October 2021. It seems timely with Elon Musk’s decision to replace “Twitter” with “X.” X – such a dramatic letter, …

“It’s hot. It’s like Africa-hot. Tarzan couldn’t take this kind of hot.” – Eugene Morris Jerome, “Biloxi Blues” “The Pacific Northwest is a temperate climate.” “Summer …

“A great democracy has got to be progressive, or it will soon cease to be either great or a democracy.” – Teddy Roosevelt “America the Beautiful” is a tune we all know well. Played …

“Birds are mediators between heaven and earth.” – Terry Tempest Williams My dad used to hold me in front of the kitchen window of our duplex in the city, and we would watch the birds …

“After silence, that which comes closest to expressing the inexplicable is music.” – Aldus Huxley There is something about a good song. It transports you to a place in time, a feeling, …

grudge v. : to be unwilling to give or admit: give or allow reluctantly or resentfully n. : a feeling of deep-seated resentment or ill will The other day at a meeting, someone made …

Imagine your favorite restaurant or café, the place you go when you want to relax or share stories with friends and family. The dishes come, you put your napkin in your lap, pick up your knife …

“There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine.” – Ray Bradbury, “Fahrenheit 451” When I was 13, I saved my allowance to buy a biography about a rock star. I had …

“Under certain circumstances, there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.” – Henry James Few bites compare to a scone with …

Growing up, I spent a lot of time reading. My mom would say that hours would go by and they would not see me unless they peeked into my room to find me in a corner, usually sitting on the floor, with …

Desensitization: noun. The process of reducing or eliminating sensitivity; the act or process of desensitizing, of dulling or reducing sensation. I have always said I want to maintain a bit of …

”Men explain things to me, and facts do not get in their way” – Rebecca Solnit Molly Tuttle, one of the most extraordinary bluegrass singers, composers, and guitar players, won a Grammy …